


𝑫𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, 𝑰 𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑰𝒇 𝑰'𝒎 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑴𝒆

by catboy64



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Age Difference, Anise is Trying, Bill Cipher is an Asshole, Dorks in Love, I'm Self Shipping Trash and I Am Not Sorry, Kidnapping, M/M, OC X CANON, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Rating May Change, Religious Cults, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Strangulation, Violence, cringe culture is dead, protective ford, tw self harm ideation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27499675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catboy64/pseuds/catboy64
Summary: He's a lonely, socially awkward demon hunter, he's a half demon shapeshifter on the run from a cult. In some ways, the two couldn't be more different, and yet life works it's magic in strange ways, and perhaps these two lonely flowers could find solace in each other in a hard world.Oh yeah, and there's a dream demon bend on world destruction.((Currently in the process of rewriting this!))
Relationships: Might add more as I go - Relationship, Stanford Pines/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

ˢᵒ ᶦᵗ'ˢ ʳᵘᵐᵐᵃᵍᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᵍᵃʳᵇᵃᵍᵉ ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ.....

Ever since Anise's long, tiring trek, a lone pink haired twink trying to find his own way in the cold, lonely place he called his world, it became quickly apparent to the shapeshifter that he had very little plan of what to do past 'get the hell away from Saint Valentino's and never look back'.

This meant, however, that whatever money he managed to snag on his way out of that unholy "house of the holy" was very quickly spent as he travelled. As it stands, he had very little left. About 40$ that was only barely saved through staying at free shelters and safe seeming holes in the wall when he could, and trying to stay at the cheaper hotels and inns when he couldn't.

And, well, going through the garbage.

Most of the time, he used the form of a raccoon to rummage through the garbage. Less out of pride (ᵍᵒᵈ ᵏⁿᵒʷˢ ʰᵉ ᵇᵃʳᵉˡʸ ʰᵃᵈ ᵃⁿʸ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦⁿ ʰᶦᵐ) and more to avoid getting more attention drawn onto him than necessary. As it stood, he was often shooed away by diner owners and the like. But they were throwing away perfectly sandwiches! Why shouldn't he be able to grab a snack in the garbage without the judgment???

But it didn't matter anyway. After a raccoon-form Anise had managed to scourge up a day old cheese sandwich and a barely touched apple, he ran off to find a place to shapeshift back, out of the view of peering eyes. Because garbage digging for breakfast wasn't worth possibly giving people heart attacks seeing some shapeshifting weirdo.

Maybe he shouldn't have decided to make the getaway now, when it was barely spring and the weather was still very cold...

And the was still some snow blanketing the ground...

But Anise shook away that thought. There was no way he'd have been able to handle another month at that place. No way.

Having found a secluded place behind a few trees (ᵗʰᶦˢ ʷʰᵒˡᵉ ᵗᵒʷⁿ ˢᵉᵉᵐᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ˢᵘʳʳᵒᵘⁿᵈᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᵗʰᵉᵐ.) the shapeshifter, now back to his slender human form, was eating his dumpster breakfast when he decided to take a look at his injury.

Lifting up his pant leg, there was the familiar jagged scratch, going from just above the ankle to the knee. As it turned out, jumping a fence was a little harder than it seemed in his adventure/fantasy novels, and he got a nice momento of the occasion. 

Looking at it, the pinkette winced a little. It has been almost 2 weeks since then and the cut still didn't seem to be healing properly. Maybe barely having money for new bandages didn't help. But at least he was washing it often. That's how you take care of wounds, right? Although walking with a slight limp wasn't ideal.

Deciding to put it aside to the Deal With It Later part of his mind, (ᴼʳ ᵗʰᵉ ᴰᵉᵃˡ ᵂᶦᵗʰ ᴵᵗ ᴺᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵖᵃʳᵗ, ᵗʰᵉʸ'ʳᵉ ᵖʳᵉᵗᵗʸ ˢᶦᵐᶦˡᵃʳ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵉᵃˢʸ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ᶜᵒⁿᶠᵘˢᵉᵈ...) Anise has resumed eating his breakfast. One problem at a time.

Or, at least, he tried to. Because not a minute later he had the lovely fortune of being accosted by a stranger. This guy wearing a dark coat, with an air of drunken annoyance about him, stumbled into the pinkette's view and started going on about stealing food before the shapeshifter could really begin to even formulate a response to the intrusion.

And the small pinkette wasn't good at handling confrontation on his better days, but being food deprived and a lil on edge from being on his own for the first time made him freeze up on the spot.

Then, all at once, the world went topsy turvy and the pinkette was facing towards the cloudy, pale blue sky. ᴴᵘʰ?

It took him a moment to realize that he had been shoved over, and to realize he had automatically curled up on the ground, trying to protect himself from any further attacks.

It took him another moment to realize that no further attacks came. Which struck the shapeshifter as odd. When he dared to open his eyes and look, instead of seeing the angry man from before, he instead saw a different man, holding out his hand to Anise (ᵂʰᶦᶜʰ ʰᵉ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ'ᵛᵉ ˢʷᵒʳⁿ ʰᵃᵈ ᵃⁿ ᵉˣᵗʳᵃ ᶠᶦⁿᵍᵉʳ, ᵇᵘᵗ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ʰᵉ ʷᵃˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵘᶠᶠᵉʳᶦⁿᵍ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ˢᵒʳᵗ ᵒᶠ ˢʰᵒᶜᵏ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵇᵉᶦⁿᵍ ˢʰᵒᵛᵉᵈ ᶠᵒʳ ⁿᵒ ʳᵉᵃˢᵒⁿ...) and had an expression of soft concern rather than anger.

"Are you alright?" The man asked in a deep, baritone voice. It took Anise a second to process the question, brain still catching up with everything that happened.

"Y-yeah." He responded dumbly, before mentally shaking himself out of his daze. He took the man's hand, standing up and dusting off his black sweatshirt. He then glanced at his sanwich and apple, now sitting on the ground. 'ᴬⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ᵂᴬˢ ᵐʸ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵏᶠᵃˢᵗ, ᵐᵃʸ ᶦᵗ ʳᵉˢᵗ ᶦⁿ ᵖᵉᵃᶜᵉ...' he thought sadly.

"What happened to that guy? Did he run off?" Anise asked, glancing around but seeing no sign of his attacker.

"I saw him bothering you and came over, must have scared him because he ran off." The man explained simply. He than glanced at the lost dumpster breakfast now strewn on the ground.

"If...if you would like I could treat us both to breakfast at the diner?" The silver haired man offered, not unkindly.

The shapeshifter still felt wrong about all this. He didn't think he deserved a whole free meal just for being given a little push.

"I don't know, I don't want to put you out..." He had said, as he nervously wrung his hands together.

"I insist, it's no trouble at all." The man had replied, and the pinkette really, really wanted to refuse, but his rumbling tummy told him that he should just take the meal. There's no reason not to, after all, not to mention spending time with a kind stranger would be nice after talking to nobody for days on end.

And who knows, maybe he could finally make some friends in this odd town?

➽───────────────❥

Anise was terrified.

He thought being accosted by a stranger smelling of beer was terrifying, but now he was having breakfast with another stranger, and as nice as it was to spend time with someone for the first time in a long time, it reminded the pinkette of how bad he was at interacting with other people.

The pinkette had ordered some pancakes. (ᵂʰᶦᶜʰ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵗʳᵃⁿᵍᵉʳ - ˢᵗᵃⁿᶠᵒʳᵈ, ᵃˢ ᵗʰᵉʸ ʰᵃᵈ ᵉˣᶜʰᵃⁿᵍᵉᵈ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ᶦⁿᵗʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵗᶦᵒⁿˢ ᵒⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵃʸ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈᶦⁿᵉʳ - ʰᵃᵈ ᶦⁿˢᶦˢᵗᵉᵈ ᵒⁿ, ʷʰᶦˡᵉ ᴬⁿᶦˢᵉ ʷᵃˢ ˢᵗᶦˡˡ ᵘⁿᶜᵒᵐᶠᵒʳᵗᵃᵇˡᵉ ʷᶦᵗʰ ʰᵃᵛᶦⁿᵍ ᵒᵗʰᵉʳˢ ʰᵉˡᵖ ʰᶦᵐ, ᶦᵗ ʷᵃˢ ᵃ ⁿᵉʷ ᶠᵉᵉˡᶦⁿᵍ ᵃⁿᵈ ʰᵉ ᵈᶦᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵈᵒ ʷᶦᵗʰ ⁿᵉʷ ᶠᵉᵉˡᶦⁿᵍˢ.) Meanwhile Stanford order was simply some coffee, saying he had already eaten earlier.

And the moment the waitress with one shut eye - Susan apparently - left with their orders, Anise suddenly realized he had no idea what to say.

A moment passed.

Then another moment passed.

Inwardly, Anise was screaming. 'ˢᵃʸ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ, ᵍᵒᵈᵈᵃᵐᵐᶦᵗ! ᴶᵘˢᵗ ᵒᵖᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵐᵒᵘᵗʰ ᵃⁿᵈ ˢᵃʸ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ!'

"You really don't have to..." Was all he could think, his hands still at it, wringing with pure anxiety.

"I told you before, it's no trouble." Anise would have expected those words to be said with annoyance over the pinkette being overly anxious, yet the other man didn't seem bothered in the slightest. He seemed... understanding.

"And to be honest, I missed having company." He added softly, more to himself than anything.

"Yeah, it's nice to have someone to talk to." The shapeshifter agreed, letting his shoulders relax a little bit.

Another moment passed, this one much less tense than the last.

"Are you new around here?" Stanford asked, conversationally. Anise figured 'I'm technically homeless right now and just ran away from what was sorta my home.' would be weird and off-putting to just spring on someone, so instead he said,

"Yeah, just travelling and ended up here. How could you tell?"

"I think I would remember seeing someone with red eyes."

And at the mention of his (ᶠʳᵉᵃᵏᶦˢʰ, ᵘⁿⁿᵃᵗᵘʳᵃˡ, ᵈᶦˢᵍᵘˢᵗᶦⁿᵍ, ʳᵉᵖᵘˡˢᶦᵛᵉ) eye color, all the anxiety from before came rushing back into him, and then some. His entire form suddenly froze up, waiting for the name-calling that was sure to come.

"I think they're lovely. How did they get that way?" This give the scared pinkette a pause.

"They...they came that way... you don't think they're ugly?" He asked, his voice filled with apprehension. Stanford's expression changed to something the shapeshifter couldn't name. Not pity, but something deeper than that.

"Hey, I'm the last person that's going to judge you here." The silverhaired man assured softly, as he brough his hand up and wiggled his 1 2 3 4 5...6 fingers. 'ᴴᵘʰ.' Anise thought. Turned out he saw right the first time. He took a deep, calming breath, feeling relief course through him.

"Sorry, being paranoid here..."

"It's alright, I know how the world can be towards those that are... different..."

Anise knew all too well, but having someone else acknowledge it made him feel for the first time in a long time that there was someone else that understood him.

"That's why us weirdos have to stick together." Anise said, giving Stanford a small smile that the man returned.

➽──────────────❥

The rest of the meal went by much smoother. The two talked about some more lighter topics, and Stanford told him about the research he was doing. He was, however, unable to explain exactly what the research was, which Anise figured was fair. They just met a few hours ago, after all.

Afterwards, the two agreed to meet up again later for dinner. And for the first time since running away from Saint Valentino's, (maybe even before that.) Anise felt like he might have found a place that, with time, could feel like home.

Of course, that left the issue of actually finding a place to stay. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough cash to stay at a hotel anymore. Fortunately, he spotted an abandoned house at the edges of the town. Using the small form of a rat to sneak in, he made the place a little more comfortable for himself. A little sweeping here, some moving rubble there and managed to clean off a decent mattress to sleep on.

The shapeshifter had just took a break to read a book when he heard the sound of a branch breaking. He froze, realizing he wasn't alone.

The pinkette rose to look out the window, only to see nobody there, just the empty grass.

He was about ready to just write it off as his mind playing tricks on him, when he heard something much louder. The door being slammed on. Repeatedly.

In a blind panic, Anise froze for a moment, before realizing he needed to get the hell out of there now.

Knowing that the door was a no-go, he made a bee-line for the window and started trying to get it open. But despite his best efforts, the window stayed stubbornly shut. 'ᴺᵒ ⁿᵒ ⁿᵒ ⁿᵒ ⁿᵒ ⁿᵒ ⁿᵒ'

He was just about to start trying to break it open when the door finally gave, and the pinkette turned around just in time to see a pair of almost glowing yellow eyes before he was shoved against the wall by his throat. The last thing he heard before his head was slammed against the wall, sending him into darkness, was a high pitched, echoing laugh.

➽──────────────❥

(a/n: hehehe, left y'all on a cliff hanger? will anise survive? will some actual plot happen? will i learn how to write dialogue? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON DRAGON BALL Z!)


	2. think of these thoughts as limitless light

He was supposed to be tracking down a demon today. A powerful dream demon by the name of Bill Cipher, he had managed to track him to a small town by the name of Gravity Falls.

But of course he managed to get distracted and lose track of him.

And the worst part of it all?

He couldn't bring himself to feel bad about it.

But really, let's start from the beginning, shall we?

He had been focusing on trying to track the demon when his attention had been taken in by an altercation going on by some trees nearby. Initially he had wanted to ignore it, as cold as it might've been, because Bill Cipher took priority at the time.

It was when the encounter became physical, with the smaller man being shoved over bodily, that Stanford had abruptly decided to step in. (ᴵᵗ ᵈᵉᶠᶦⁿᶦᵗᵉˡʸ ᵈᶦᵈⁿ'ᵗ ʳᵉᵐᶦⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵃⁿ ᵒᶠ ʰᶦˢ ᵒʷⁿ ᵉˣᵖᵉʳᶦᵉⁿᶜᵉˢ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵇᵘˡˡᶦᵉˢ, ⁿᵒᵖᵉ, ⁿᵒᵗ ᵒⁿᵉ ᵇᶦᵗ!)

And maybe he didn't have to offer to take the pinkette to the diner for breakfast, but he mentally justified with himself that it was only being polite.

(ᴬⁿᵈ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ᵍᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵒⁿ ᶠᵒʳ ʷᵉᵉᵏˢ ᶦⁿ ᶦˢᵒˡᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ ʷʰᶦˡˢᵗ ᶜʰᵃˢᶦⁿᵍ ᵃ ᵈᵉᵐᵒⁿ ʰᵃᵘⁿᵗᶦⁿᵍ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵈʳᵉᵃᵐˢ ʷᵃˢ ᵍᵉᵗᵗᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ʰᶦᵐ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃ ᵖᵃʳᵗ ᵒᶠ ʰᶦᵐ ⁿᵉᵉᵈᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵖᵃⁿʸ ᵃ ˡᶦᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵐᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵃⁿ ʰᵉ ᶜᵃʳᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵃᵈᵐᶦᵗ...)

What had really struck him about this stranger - Anise Lavenders - were his eyes. A bright, candy red like he'd never seen before. Seemingly natural.

When he had decided to ask about it, he immediately noticed the pinkette become tense. It wasn't too hard for the scientic to imagine why. The world was often cruel, and didn't take well to those that were different in anyway. (ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᶦˣ-ᶠᶦⁿᵍᵉʳᵉᵈ ᵐᵃⁿ ʷᵃˢ ᶠᵃʳ, ᶠᵃʳ ᵗᵒᵒ ᶠᵃᵐᶦˡᶦᵃʳ ʷᶦᵗʰ...)

But seeing Anise's expression - one of fear, of someone who was conditioned from years of hurt to excpect the worst - had brought out a strange, unfamiliar sense of protectiveness to the scientist. He felt he needed to let him know that not everyone in the world was out to hurt him.

By the end of the breakfast not-date, Stanford found himself surprised by how much he connected with the stranger. He supposed it was partly due to the two of them being similarly hurt by others for their differences, and yet there was something more, too. Something about this smaller, pink haired stranger than drew the scientist to him, something that made him want to learn more about them.

A part of him felt bad that he had to be secretive about his line of work, but he knew it was safer to keep people away from that part of him. The last thing he'd want is for an innocent person to get involved in his dangerous work and get hurt in the process.

But that brought him to where he was now.

Cipher's trail was cold now, and he still had no idea what he was plotting. He had managed to catch glimpses of what the dream demon was up to, but it was all pretty vague.

He was just in the middle of berating himself when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 'ᵀʰᵃᵗ'ˢ ᵒᵈᵈ, ʷʰᵒ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵇᵉ ᶜᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ ⁿᵒʷ?'

The first thing the scientist noticed was that he didn't reckognize the number. The second was that there was no name to put to said number.

Deciding that he wasn't getting anywhere anyway, he chose to answer it.

"Stanford Pines, who is this?"

"HEY SIXER!" Chills immediately went up his spine upon hearing the familiar high-pitched voice of his foe.

"Cipher..."

"YUP, THAT'S MY NAME! BUT ANYWAY, DON'T REALLY HAVE TIME TO CHAT SO I'LL JUST GET DOWN TO BUSINESS!" Stanford went rigid, already knowing full well what the demon wanted from him.

"I told you, I'm not building anything for you!" He snapped back, not caring that he wasn't that far away from the diner.

"OH, I WOULDN'T BE SO QUICK TO REFUSE NOW, SIXER. WOULDN'T WANT TO LEAVE YOUR FRIEND HERE HANGING!" This gave him pause. He wasn't talking about...?

"Wh-what did you do...?"

"NOTHING YET, GENUIS, BUT IF YOU DON'T START DOING THINGS MY WAY, THAT PORTAL WON'T BE THE ONLY THING LEFT IN PIECES!" Stanford felt his stomach drop to the ground.

"Don't bring innocent people into this, this is between you and me, Bill!" The demon simply laughed his trademark annoying laugh in response to this.

"I THINK WE'RE WAY PAST BRINGING INNOCENT PEOPLE INTO THIS. I GOT THINGS TO DO, SO IF YOU WANT CUPID'S ARROW HERE TO STAY IN ONE PIECE YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO. I'LL BE WATING!" And just like that, the demon hung up before Stanford could get any other words in.

For a moment, the scientist just sunk into himself, leaning against a nearby wall and letting his head fall into his hands.

(  
ᴵᵗ ʷᵃˢ ʰᵃᵖᵖᵉⁿᶦⁿᵍ ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ. ˢᵒᵐᵉᵒⁿᵉ ʷᵃˢ ʰᵘʳᵗ ⁿᵒʷ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵒᶠ ʰᶦᵐ. ᴮᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ʰᵉ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵏᵉᵉᵖ ᵗᵒ ʰᶦᵐˢᵉˡᶠ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵐᶦⁿᵈ ʰᶦˢ ᵒʷⁿ ᵇᵘˢᶦⁿᵉˢˢ. ᴵᵗ ʷᵃˢ ˢᵗᵃⁿˡᵉʸ ᵃˡˡ ᵒᵛᵉʳ ᵃᵍᵃᶦⁿ. ᵂʰᵉⁿ ʷᶦˡˡ ʰᵉ ˢᵗᵒᵖ ʰᵘʳᵗᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵃʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ ʰᶦᵐ? )

With concentrated effort (ᴬⁿᵈ ᵐᵃʸᵇᵉ ᵃ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ˢˡᵃᵖ ᵗᵒ ʰᶦˢ ᶠᵃᶜᵉ) the silver haired man managed to force himself out of his emotional spiral. Now wasn't the time for feeling sorry for himself, he needed to figure out how to rescue Anise without giving into the demon's demands.

(ᵂʰᵃᵗ ʰᵉ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵈᵒ ᶦᶠ ˢᵘᶜʰ ᵃ ʳᵉˢᶜᵘᵉ ᶠᵃᶦˡᵉᵈ, ʰᵉ ᵈᵉᶜᶦᵈᵉᵈˡʸ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᴺᴼᵀ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ.)

Luckily, the demon's vague hint was enough as he knew exactly where he was.

He could only hope he wouldn't be too late.

➽──────────────❥

The first thing Anise felt when he finally come to was the cold surface of the ground, pressing against his cheek.

As he slowly began to open his eyes, he groaned softly as he felt a pounding headache behind his eyelids. But upon trying to bring his hand up to rub his temples, he instead came to realize with mounting horror that his arms were bound together behind his back with what felt like duct tape. A quick test of his legs told him the they were bound together as well.

It was then that the shapeshifter slowly started to remember the events that lead him to his current predicament. The break in... those yellow eyes... and then having his skull bashed against the wall...

After taking a minute or two to wait for his headache to ease off a little, Anise slowly pulled himself upright. (ᴬ ᵈᶦᶠᶠᶦᶜᵘˡᵗ ᵗᵃˢᵏ ʷʰᵉⁿ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵃʳᵐˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᵉᵍˢ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵗᶦᵉᵈ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵈᵘᶜᵗ ᵗᵃᵖᵉ...) Once upright, he took in his surroundings.

It was hard to make out details with how dark it was, but he seemed to be in some dank basement. He could see some shelves and a desk against the wall as well as a door. It was closed but he could see some light pouring through the bottom.

From what he could see, he was the only one in the room. Although he was sure his attacker was probably somewhere just beyond that door. For now, though, that gave the pinkette some time to try and escape.

Of course, there was still the issue of who the hell had knocked him out and dragged him to this place in the first place, and while Anise didn't get a good look at him he knew he saw some bright yellow eyes and he didn't reckognize them or his high pitched voice.

He gave his arms a testing pull, tried to change form... yup, taped up too tightly. Those weren't coming off anytime soon...

He then heard some muffled speaking coming from the next room. Deciding to try and listen in, and maybe get an idea on who has him captive, the pinkette slowly scooted himself until he was beside the door and pressed his ear up against it.

Immediately he rekognized the high pitched, loud voice voice as belonging to the pinkette's kidnapper. It sounded like he was in a conversation, but he couldn't hear anyone else talking so he assumed it was over the phone or something.

He managed to catch some pieces of the conversation, something about a portal being in pieces... a cupid's arrow... strange.

It would happen that then the conversation seemed to end. There was a brief silence before Anise heard heavy footfalls approaching. Uh oh! Time to think fast, soft boy!

Getting struck with an idea, the pink haired shapeshifter quickly wormed his way to the wall on the other side of the door. (Which wasn't really that quickly, but he was trying his best, okay?) If all went according to plan, his kidnapper wouldn't see him, would walk in to look and then Anise could make a break for it and try and figure out where to go from there.

In moments, the door swung open and in walked Anise's kidnapper. Behind the door, he peeked to get a look at who it was, and saw what seemed to be a decently build man who was wearing a plain sort of office looking outfit, his black hair was combed to the side but had a sort of frayed look to it all the same.

"PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK ARE WE, CUPID?" The man spoke, his voice just as unnaturally high and almost echo-y. And "Cupid"? He's been called plenty of names, but that was a new one...

As the man walked in, Anise knew it was now or never. Trying to be as quiet as he could while also being fast, he started to caterpillar crawl towards the open door. The door lead to what looked to be the inside of a house, and the pinkette knew he wasn't free yet, but maybe he could find something to cut the tape with.

However, before he could even get through the door, he heard a shout of "THERE YOU ARE!" and even as he tried to speed up, his kidnapper had the advantage of being on his feet and so it only took moments before he felt his hair being roughly grabbed as he was forced to face the yellow eyed man who grinned wildly at his captured prey.

"AW, DON'T LEAVE THE PARTY SO SOON, CUPID'S ARROW!" He winced as the man dragged him painfully by his hair before he roughly tossed him back down to the floor where he woke up.

"Why are you keeping me here?" He had asked the yellow eyed man, trying to ignore the pain in his head, now amplified by being manhanded.

"SORRY, KID, BUT THAT'S FOR ME TO KNOW AND YOU TO FIND OUT! ANYWAYS, I GOT THINGS TO DO, PEOPLE TO SEE, I SUGGEST YOU GET COMFORTABLE IN THERE!"

And before Anise could reply, the man had made his exit, leaving the shapeshifter alone in the dark room again. Anise huffed a frustrated sigh. 'ᴮᵃᶜᵏ ᵗᵒ ˢᵠᵘᵃʳᵉ ᵒⁿᵉ...'

➽──────────────❥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (a/n: well, hell. three weeks! that took way longer than it should have! i kept putting off writing it, and i was going to make it go on longer but i felt that was a good place to end it. next chapter's gonna be some action, though! i can't say how well it'll be written, but i'll try my best! >_<
> 
> thanks for reading! hopefully i won't take so long with my next chapter! stay safe!)


	3. exposing, closing circuitry of freight

Anise wasn't sure how long he had been stuck there in the dark room. After the yellow eyed man had left him alone, the pink haired half demon had layed on the cool ground, his headache from earlier back with a vengeance after being roughly thrown around. (ᴴᵉ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈⁿ'ᵗ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ʰᶦˢ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ˢᵖᵉⁿᵗ ᵘⁿᶜᵒⁿˢᶜᶦᵒᵘˢ, ʷʰᶦᶜʰ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ'ᵛᵉ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃⁿʸʷʰᵉʳᵉ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵐᶦⁿᵘᵗᵉˢ ᵗᵒ ʰᵒᵘʳˢ.)

Aside from what he was sure would be plenty of bruises on top of his possible concussion, his encounter with his kidnapper had left the shapeshifter with more questions than answers. He still had no idea what exactly kidnapped him. (ᴬⁿᵈ ⁿᵒʷ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʰᵉ ʰᵃᵈ ᵍᵒᵗᵗᵉⁿ ᵃ ᵍᵒᵒᵈ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᵃᵗ ʰᶦˢ ᵉʸᵉˢ, ᵇᵉᶠᵒʳᵉ ᵇᵉᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒˢˢᵉᵈ ᵃˢᶦᵈᵉ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᵃ ˢᵃᶜᵏ ᵒᶠ ᵖᵒᵗᵃᵗᵒᵉˢ, ᴬⁿᶦˢᵉ ᵏⁿᵉʷ ʰᵉ ʰᵃᵈ ˢᵉᵉⁿ ᶦᵗ ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᶦʳˢᵗ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ. ᴮʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ʸᵉˡˡᵒʷ ᵉʸᵉˢ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵃ ᶜᵃᵗ-ˡᶦᵏᵉ ˢˡᶦᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵖᵘᵖᶦˡˢ...) Was he a vampire? Another demon? And what was this strange entity going to do with him now? Just leave him to die?

With no way to tell what time it was, he could have been trapped in this place - wherever this place was - for hours. Was it even the same day? Was anyone looking for him? (ᵂᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵃⁿʸᵒⁿᵉ ᵉᵛᵉⁿ *ʷᵃⁿᵗ* ᵗᵒ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᶠᵒʳ ʰᶦᵐ ᶦᶠ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵈʳᵃᵍ ʰᶦᵐ ᵇᵃᶜᵏ ᵗᵒ ˢᵃᶦⁿᵗ ⱽᵃˡᵉⁿᵗᶦⁿᵉ'ˢ?) He could have disappeared anytime between being at Saint Valentine's and here, and a part of him knew that if he did that the world wouldn't give him a second look. The sun would rise again. The world would spin like it always had.

Nobody would miss him, and that thought made his heart clench painfully.

No.

He wasn't going to go out in some dirty basement somewhere. Forcibly shaking himself from his momentary existential spiral, he forced himself to sit up straight. 'ᶜᵃˡᵐ ᵈᵒʷⁿ, ᴬⁿᶦˢᵉ, ʸᵒᵘ ᶜᵃⁿ ᵈᵒ ᵗʰᶦˢ. ᴶᵘˢᵗ ˡᵒᵒᵏ ᵃᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ˢᵘʳʳᵒᵘⁿᵈᶦⁿᵍˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʳʸ ᵗᵒ ᶠᶦⁿᵈ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶜᵃⁿ ᶜᵘᵗ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗᵃᵖᵉ...'

With his eyes now more adjusted to the darkness, the shapeshifter began to slowly look through his surroundings. There wasn't too much around, but the main point of interest was the desk off to the right.

Getting closer to take a better look.... papers, papers, more papers.... and bingo! Between some papers was what looked to be a box cutter! Perfect, now he just had to get it in his hands.

Once close enough, the pinkette began to enact his genius plan to try and get the box cutter. He pulled back his legs to the side and then swung them into the desk as hard as he could, making it shake somewhat. Looking, he saw that the box cutter he so desired had moved an amazing half centimeter. 'ᵂᵉˡˡ, ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶦˢ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ...'

Fate would have it that then he heard a crash coming from outside the dark room he had been confined to. Did he know what it was? No. Did he want to find out? Definitely not! Now, more determined than ever to get the box cutter, Anise pulled back his legs and hit the desk again with a resounding SLAM!

He heard the yellow eyed man talking to someone again. SLAM!

Except this time there was another, albeit less shouty, voice in the mix. SLAM!

The new voice seemed to be arguing with the yellow eyed asshole. SLAM!

Come to think of it, this voice sounded familiar... SLAM!

Anise didn't take much more time to ponder this thought, however, as the sound of an object falling off the desk and hitting the ground with a metallic thud filled him with a sense of hope. Looking, his hopes were realized as he saw the box cutter now sitting on the ground. Wasting no time, he quickly angled himself so the box cutter was behind him and used his hands that were still bound behind him to grab the tool.

As the shapeshifter quickly cut through the duct tape that bound him (ᴬᵗ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ᵖᵒᶦⁿᵗˢ ᶜᵘᵗᵗᶦⁿᵍ ʰᶦˢ ᵒʷⁿ ʰᵃⁿᵈˢ ᶦⁿ ʰᶦˢ ʰᵃˢᵗᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ʰᶦᵐˢᵉˡᶠ ᶠʳᵉᵉ.) he heard some sounds of struggle coming from outside the dark room. As curious as he was over what might've been going on, what little bit of self preservation that was in the shapeshifter told him that he was better off not knowing. Telling him that he was better off getting out of there asap and leaving the yellow eyes demon to whatever was going on.

And as tempting as it was for Anise - once he finally had his hands and legs free - to just run like a bat out of hell, at the risk of ending up caught and tied up again (ᴬˢˢᵘᵐᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ᵐᵃⁿ ᵈᶦᵈⁿ'ᵗ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵏᶦˡˡ ʰᶦᵐ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᶠʳᵘˢᵗʳᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ.) he knew he had to be smart about his escape. And while now he was better able to shapeshift, he'd rather avoid a confrontation if possible.

And with that thought, and the box cutter in hand, (ᶜᵃⁿ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ᵇᵉ ᵗᵒᵒ ˢᵃᶠᵉ...) the pinkette stood to his feet for the first time in what felt like hours and, trying to make as little sound as possible, opened the door and slipped out.

Hugging the peeling papered walls, the shapeshifter slowly navigated himself through the old looking house. As he did so, he slowly began to hear more and more of the struggle. And, despite the warnings of the single braincell that made up the pinkette's self preservation, he found himself unconsciously drifting towards the noise. This brought him to the end of a hallway near what he imagined was a foyer. He told himself he would just peek at what was going on and then leave, but what he saw made any plans of leaving go out the window.

There was the yellow eyed man of course, still looking as unhinged as ever, but that's not what caught Anise's attention. No, what made Anise freeze on the spot was the man his kidnapper was currently staring down with a mixture of frustration and predator-like delight. It was the same six-fingered, silver haired man from the diner! It was Stanford!

"ALRIGHT, SIXER, I'M GIVING YOU ONE LAST CHANCE HERE! YOU CAN EITHER LET CUPID'S ARROW DIE JUST LIKE YOU LEFT GOOD OL' MACKERAL, OR YOU CAN HELP ME OUT AND NOBODY HAS TO GET HURT! YOUR CHOICE!"

"If you touch a hair on his head, Cipher..."

Anise's mind was filled with more questions than ever before. Was Stanford here to... rescue him? And if so, why? Sure, they had breakfast together, but that didn't make them that close? Why would he put himself in danger for him? And why did the man want his help? What for?

The shapeshifter quickly pushed those thoughts aside, however. There would be time to question everything later, but right now the silver haired man was here (ᴾᵒˢˢᶦᵇˡʸ ᵗᵒ ʳᵉˢᶜᵘᵉ ʰᶦᵐ?) and now that he wasn't tied up anymore, it was his turn to repay the favor. And because neither men had noticed the pinkette, he had the element of surprise on his side.

He just had to use it wisely...

"OH, YOU CAN DROP THE WHOLE 'I CARE' ACT, I THINK WE ALL KNOW YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT YOURSE-"

The yellow eyes man, Cipher apparently, was interrupted from his loud monologuing by a big, red eyed wolf plowing right into his side, knocking him down to the floor.

The now wolf-form Anise could barely gather his bearings before he was kicked aside hard by a now even more angry yellow eyed man, adding yet another ouchie onto the shapeshifter's growing List of Ouchies. And yes, it is called a List of Ouchies. A recent development since being on the run.

The kick, surprisingly strong, had knocked the shapeshifter into a wall where he reflexively shifted back into his human form. As he tried to shake off the new pain which seemed to awaken his possible concussion from earlier, he looked up to see Cipher coming at him with an axe.

"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT, CUPID!" The shapeshifter realized he couldn't dodge in time. He froze, brain deciding now would be a good time to go into static as he stared at the approaching weapon that shined with a deadly glint.

When a bottle shattering on the man's head stopped him just short. Looking over, the pinkette saw Stanford's hand outstretched.

For a moment, Cipher didn't seem to react, until the clear liquid in the now broken bottle started dripping down his face. He screamed bloody murder as it started to sizzle on his skin whilst not actually damaging him physically. However, his screaming slowly shifted to manic laughter.

"WOW, HOLY WATER AGAIN, SIXER? THAT'S HILARIOUSLY PREDICTABLE! YOU MAY HAVE WON THIS BATTLE BUT I'LL BE BACK SOON ENOUGH, AND WHEN I DO I'LL BE FUCKING PISSED!"

Eventually, the man slumped over as the burning stopped. Unconscious, thank god. Silence overtook the two, beneath the silence both men were filled with endless questions about the other. Slowly, Anise began to try and stand, leaning on the wall of assistance, and this movement seemed to break Stanford out of his own spell as he quickly went over to help the pinkette.

"Anise! Are you alright? How do you feel?" He had asked, voice filled with concern as he shifted into Doctor Stanford mode.

"I-I don't know... I... my head hurts...." The pinkette brought his hand up to massage his temples, the fight having brought back his headache once more. "Who-who was that....? What did he want...?"

"There will be time to explain everything later, right now you're hurt. Come on, we're going to a hospital." The silver haired man had tried to help carry the Anise, however the smaller one pulled back.

"Noo..... no hospitalsss.... pleasee dun wanna.... they'll get me..." He had protested tiredly, trying to get himself away. The other man frowned at the mention of a 'them', but decided now wasn't the time to ask.

"Hey, hey... we don't have to go to any hospitals. Promise." Stanford had assured, afraid of the pinkette hurting himself. "I'll treat you myself, how does that sound?" This seemed to help calm the shapeshifter. He looked up, his expression filled with hope and uncertainty.

"Th-that'd be niceee..." With these words, Anise had allowed him to help support him as the two finally left the beat up house.

➽──────────────❥

Meanwhile, miles away in a certain building in Colorado...

"What do you mean 'you can't find him'?!" Asked an irate man, holding a phone as he sat at a desk.

"I don't have any leads, and the missing posters haven't worked yet..." Came the hesitant answer from the other line. The man took a deep breath before responding.

"It's only been two weeks, he couldn't have gone that far yet. Keep spreading out the posters, keep asking around, he has to be somewhere and wherever he is... he will return home, even if we have to force him." The man's tone was now calm, but with a sharp tone underneath.

"Yes, Father Donovan." Came the response, and the man in question hung up the phone before sinking into the desk chair.

Having been up for most of the last 14 or so days trying to track the runaway shapeshifter, Donovan was tired to say the least. Without meaning to, the man had accidentally fallen asleep at his desk, and that was when he heard the voice.

"WOW, KIDS HUH? YOU RAISE THEM AND THEY UP AND LEAVE YOU WHEN YOU NEED THEM!"

Practically jumping out of his seat, he realized that everything had become a dull, monochrome color. But what really surprised him was the sharply dressed, one eyed triangle floating just nearby.

"Is this some kind of nightmare...?" The man had asked to himself.

"CLOSE ENOUGH! THE NAME'S BILL CIPHER AND I THINK WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER WITH OUR PROBLEMS..."

➽──────────────❥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((a/n: alriiiight~! that took a lot less time to write than the last chapter, though i might end up waiting a bit before posting it so i can get a head start on the next chapter, so hello future! it's froggo from the 9th! also, i now have a "canon" design for this version of Ford, who i will be nicknaming Elli for reasons.  
> https://femboyhorror.tumblr.com/image/637680258055815168  
> and hey, what's that? something almost resembling an action scene? kinda ended ubruptly but ehhhh... i tried! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> anyhoo! hope u liked that chapter. feel free to leave a comment if u want to, tho u don't have to! hopefully i'll be able to get the next chapter out just as quickly, hope you all have a good day!))


	4. think of each moment holding this breath

The ensuing drive was a mostly quiet affair. The calm after a storm during which the clouds had begun to clear. A moment to take in all that has happened.

With the adrenaline of trying to escape his kidnapping drained, his injuries made themselves fully known. The loudest one was his head, pounding in time with the pinkette's heartbeat, but he could tell he was going to have a nice array of bruises from being tossed around, as well as the small cuts on his hands from when he cut himself free which was now mostly dried to a dark, brownish red.

Every couple of minutes, the pinkette would meekly glance over to the man beside him. He seemed to be in mostly better shape, but the part demon noticed him favoring his right arm slightly.

And on the other side of the car, Stanford would take occasional glances towards the other, his gaze filled with barely concealed worry over the younger man. And everytime he did, a voice in the back of his mind would taunt him 'ᵀʰᶦˢ ᶦˢ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠᵃᵘˡᵗ. ᴬⁿᶦˢᵉ ᶦˢ ʰᵘʳᵗ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘ. ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵒᵗ ʰᶦᵐ ᶦⁿᵗᵒ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᵐᵉˢˢ. ʸᵒᵘ ᵍᵒᵗ ʰᶦᵐ ᵏᶦᵈⁿᵃᵖᵖᵉᵈ.'

Thankfully for the both of them, it wasn't too long until the car drove up to the medium sized cabin in the woods that Ford called home. Anise couldn't help but think it looked very cozy. Very homey.

Upon entering the cabin, the pinkette felt the cold chill from the early spring weather melt away as he entered the warmth of Stanford's home.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess. Please make yourself comfortable, though." The man said as he went off to another room. Sure enough, there was some books lying about as well as half empty cups of coffee, but to Anise, who had been staying anywhere from motels to abandoned buildings, it was like a castle.

Which is why the shapeshifter felt immensely out of place. He sat down on a nearby couch, trying to make himself as small as possible, fidling with his hands and filled with anxiety.

However, despite feeling like he was intruding, his curiosity was piqued by the place. Scanning his surroundings, he saw various oddities. There was a tank with an axolotl. (A pet?) On the fireplace was what looked to be the skull of a dinosaur. There was a particular book that was half open, filled with scribbles of symbols that looked strange yet almost... familiar?

Anise slowly leaned over to get a better look...

"I didn't keep you waiting long, did I?" The pinkette gave a startle from the unexpected reappearance of his silver haired savior.

"N-no, I'm alright." The pinkette stuttered out. It suddenly dawned on the shapeshifter the predicament he was in.

He was alone in a cabin in the woods. With the silver haired man who just helped rescue him. Who he was just realizing was very, very attractive. Alone.

Suddenly Anise found himself very intrigued with the helm of his sleeve.

Taking a set next to him on the couch, Stanford placed the first aid kit on the coffee table and glanced over to the pinkette.

"Can you look at me, please?" The man asked. Fighting against his own shyness, coupled with his shame over his red eyes, the shapeshifter shyly met the other man's eyes. Ever so gently, Stanford cupped his chin and shined a light into his eyes. But Anise was much more interested in his eyes, a pale hazelnut brown color.

Suddenly the pinkette found the room had become increasingly warm.

"Well, it seems to only be a mild concussion. Some rest should take care of that. Can you give me your hands? I noticed they have cuts on them." To his embarrassment, Anise had taken a moment to register that the man had asked him a question. (Too busy staring into his eyes like a love sick puppy.)

"S-sure." He allowed Stanford to hold take his hands, still marred with dry blood over the old cuts. And as his rough six fingered hands cupped his, he felt the tempature of the room rise further. Suddenly the shapeshifter let out a whimper of surprise as he felt the sting of peroxide on his cuts.

"Sorry! I should've warned you before..." The silver haired man had said apologetically as he cleaned off the cuts on his hands. He finally finished by wrapping his hands in bandages before letting them go. Anise quickly found he missed the feeling.

After a moment of silence as Anise gently rubbed the new bandages on his hands, he finally asked the first question that came to mind.

"Who was that?" Stanford responded with a tired sigh, taking off his glasses to clean them off before beginning a long story.

"His name is Bill Cipher..."

➽──────────────❥

We will now take our story back a little bit for a moment, so just stay with me here as we flashback to a little corner of the world known as Glass Shard Beach, circa somewhere in the 60s or 70s.

"Aw, poindexter! How long are you going to keep staring at those books? You've been up at it since yesterday!" Complained a soft yet strong looking teen from the top of a bunk bed. Below, sitting at a table and surrounded by various notes and books about robot building and the like, was another teen. Very similar in appearance to the former, but with a lankier build, slightly longer hair to the former's messy yet slicked back, as well as having an extra digit on both hands.

"Come on, Lee, some representatives from West Coast Tech will be to this science fair, I need to think of something that will blow them away!" The lankier teen responded without looking up from his work.

"Ford, you're the smartest guy in this dumb town. Probably the whole world! You have plenty of time to think of something, why not take a nap or somethin'!"

Seeing that his twin refused to move from his desk, a teenaged Stanley Pines let out a frusterated groan and rolled underneath his own blanket.

"Fine, just don't complain to me when you're zombie-fied tomorrow..." He grumbled, mostly to himself, falling asleep soon after. Ford glanced to his brother and sighed. As much as he wanted to join him in sleep, the big science fair was only 2 days away and he didn't have a single clue what he was going to make. His overworked mind was a complete blank, and he refused to sleep until he at least had a starting point, tearing through all his mechanical books, desperate to awaken something in his brain.

However, sleep was a stubborn thing, and despite the twin's attempts to blink away the sleepiness it wasn't long until slumber claimed him, leaving him asleep at his desk in a position that could only give him a crick in his neck the next day.

As he drifted into sleep, Stanford Pines suddenly raised his head from his desk with a startle as he realized the room around him was suddenly a dull monochrome in color, almost frozen in time.

He was just looking around at the now colorless room when an unfamiliar voice came that seemed to echo from all around him.

"LOOKS LIKE YOU MIGHT NEED SOME HELP THERE, SIXER!"

The teen was startled to see a floating, bright yellow triangle, sharply dressed and staring at him with a single, slit pupil eye. However, he relaxed somewhat as this apparation explained himself. He told him that he was a muse, that every couple mellenium he would choose a brilliant mind to inspire and that he chose the young Stanford as his own pupil.

And Stanford himself, who was so tired of all the mockery an teasing he got from the people in the small town, weather for his extra digits or his 'delusional' belief in the paranormal, clung onto every word this being spoke. Wanting more than anything to believe he was destined for greatness.

And naturally, he told his twin, one of the very few people who stood by him through thick and thin, about his encounter. Lee didn't question the existence of this muse known as Bill Cipher, trusting his brother wouldn't make something up like that just to prank him, and yet something about this "muse" story didn't add up to the more street-smart of the two.

"He's just jealous." Cipher had told him one night, as he helped him with his science project. "It's the classic story of Cain and Abel, when one sibling succeeds the other one gets overcome with jealously and suddenly turns on the more successful sibling."

"Lee isn't the jealous type, he's just worried about me..." Stanford replied with a small frown. Yet, a tiny seed of doubt was planted in the genuis' brain.

Along with helping him with his science project, Bill had also encouraged his studying of the paranormal, much to the growing annoyance of his father. Coupled with the growing rift the muse slowly put between the twins, it was only a matter of time until something gave.

One night, after long dileberation, Ford had told his family about his plant to continue to study the paranormal in West Coast Tech.

His father wasn't happy to say the least.

But ultimately, the worst part about that day wasn't his father yelling at him, telling him what a "waste" it was for him to study such a "worthless subject".

It was when his brother hid his acceptance letter.

And even when his brother swore he hadn't done it, Bill had shown him doing exactly that. And knowing already that his brother was iffy about the whole idea of leaving to a college so far away from Glass Shard Beach, the two had gotten into a heated arguement that ended with Ford leaving that night. Telling himself that if his family refused to support him, then he didn't need them.

All he needed was himself and his muse.

➽──────────────❥

Back to the present, Anise silently took in this information as he looked at the silver haired man before him, who wore an expression of regret and bitterness on his face.

"I left everything... everyone behind. For years I thought Bill Cipher was the only one I could trust, but he was just using me all along..." He trailed off, seemingly lost in a memory that the shapeshifter couldn't see. Unsure of what to say, Anise simply let his heart guide him. He slowly reached out and laid a hand on the other's shoulder in an attempt to soothe him.

At this bit of physical comfort, the older man relaxed slightly and gave Anise a small smile in return. However, he quickly returned to a more serious look.

"In short, Bill Cipher is a dangerous dream demon. He can only affect our world by possessing someone, but his goal is to try to force me to build a portal to let him into our world permanently. He seems harmless at first, but he's a master manipulator and will say anything to get you to trust him. If you see him in your dreams, promise me you won't listen to him." As he said this, Stanford fixed Anise with a signifigant look, his hand on the pinkette's shoulder. Anise could see behind the determination was no small amount of fear and pain of having trusted this being who had evidently betrayed him at some point.

"I promise." The pinkette promised, wanting more than anything for this silver haired man to be able to trust him. This seemed to suffice, as Stanford released his hold on the pinkette, his posture relaxing once more.

"So, shapeshifting, huh...." He began, his tone casual but a hint of deep curiosity within. Anise began to instinctively interlink his fingers together nervously.

"Y-yeah... I've been able to do that for as long as I can remember... think I was born with those abilities. I can shift into any person or animal, as long as I know what they look like." The pinkette rubbed at their bandages before adding "I'd show you some forms, but I'm still kind of tired after today..."

"Understandable. You can stay here, if you wish, that way I can make sure your injuries heal well. I have a spare room you can sleep in." And even though he didn't say it, deep inside Stanford really missed the feeling of having someone with him as he slept... even if it was in a different room.

"It..it won't be a bother, would it...?" The smaller one had asked, looking at Stanford with hesitation. His unsure look make the man's heart swell.

"Not at all, dear, I can even find you some spare pajamas to sleep in." The man assured, his voice gentle and comforting to the pinkette, who gave a small smile in return.

"That would be nice."

➽──────────────❥

The shapeshifter had left to change into the clothes given to him. Before he did, Stanford noticed a slight limp in his walk and mentally noted to ask him about it tomorrow. But for now, left to his own devices for a moment, the silver haired man took a moment to consider this new friend he made.

A small part of the man told him not to trust this person. His last experience with a shapeshifter having ended badly, not to mention his experience with Bill having taught him that looks can often deceive.

And yet, the pinkette attacked Bill to save him. He could have easily left Stanford and saved himself, but instead he put himself in danger to save him.

And more over, he felt like he had a connection with the shapeshifter that he hadn't felt with anyone in years. (ᴺᵒᵗ ˢᶦⁿᶜᵉ ᴮᶦˡˡ...) He sensed the younger man's fear about being judged for his ruby red eyes, the same judgement he had gotten for his extra digits. And, in that moment, he felt a protective instinct like he hadn't gotten in a long time.

He hadn't wanted to get him involved in his mess, but now he was in it and he knew Bill Cipher would continue to target the pinkette to try and get to him. Instead, he resolved to do all in his power to keep Anise safe from the dream demon until he could stop Cipher for good.

"Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes..." Anise's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to face the pinkette. He immediately felt his face heat up as he took in the pinkette's new attire.

The shapeshifter was wearing a pair of Stanford's older shorts, tied at the waist to fit the pinkette's smaller frame, as well as one of Stanford's dress shirts. The light yellow shirt was large on the smaller person. The sleees hung off his hands, and even with all the buttons done the collar hung open, revealing a small but tantilizing amout of the shapeshifter's shoulders and chest underneath.

Forcing his eyes away from the pinkette's (ᴾʳᵒᵇᵃᵇˡʸ ˢᵒᶠᵗ) skin, he replied, "Think nothing of it, dear, you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place if it wasn't for me..." At this, Anise got a small, sad smile on his face.

"But I wouldn't be here if you didn't save me... And besides... I've survived worse..." The last part was added so softly that Stanford almost didn't catch it. But he did, and worry made his chest twist slightly as he wanted to ask about what he meant, but he was interrupted from this as the pinkette yawned slightly. 'ᵀʰᵉʳᵉ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵇᵉ ᵗᶦᵐᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵃˢᵏ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ᶦᵗ ᵗᵒᵐᵒʳʳᵒʷ, ᶠᵒʳ ⁿᵒʷ ᴬⁿᶦˢᵉ ⁿᵉᵉᵈˢ ʳᵉˢᵗ.' He thought.

➽──────────────❥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (a/n: this took longer than it should have to write out. brain stuff went bad for a bit, as it does sometimes, so i didn't write for a while, and it kinda ended abruptly but ehhhhhh~
> 
> either way, here's chapter 4! starting to delve into backstory stuff, added in some aniford fluff b/c this is still a self ship fic, and thing's will probably be chill for a bit before more action happens! hope you guys like this story, hopefully next chapter will be easier to write, ily all!)


	5. as death minute in decimal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((TW: there's a nightmare in the beginning that hints towards some violence, it's nothing too bad but if you think it might trigger you go ahead and skip to the line "Stanford Pines was busy doing some research when he heard it."
> 
> stay safe, darlings!))

It was happening again.

They were angry. They were angry with him for leaving them.

'Selfish' they said. 'Traitor', 'monster', 'freak', 'needs to be taught a lesson'...

Hands were holding him down. Too tight. Can't move. Can't move.

They took his shirt. Holding him down. Trying to struggle free, can't move arms. Can't move...

Then he heard it. Sizzling sound. No...

It's coming closer. Please no...

Closer... nonononono....

Sizzling sound right behind him...

PLEASENONOTAGAINPLEA-

➽──────────────❥

Stanford Pines was busy doing some research when he heard it.

It was early in the morning. So early, in fact, that the world outside was still bathed in the darkness of night with only the barest hints of the sun that would rise soon.

A certain someone would have chided him for being awake so early, and yet, after everything that happened the day before, he couldn't bring himself to sleep for more than a few hours.

So, at the early hour of 3am, he decided to focus his brain power on ways to put a stop to the dream demon responisble for everything.

He was just finishing his third cup of coffee when he heard a choked cry coming from the direction of Anise's room. His mind immediately raced to worse possible scenarios; That there were injuries he missed, pain from current injuries, Bill Cipher. Jumping up from his chair fast enough to almost knock it over, he quickly made his way to the guest room.

Upon entering the room, the man was greeted with the sight of the pink haired shapeshifter in question tossing and turning in bed, small cries of "no" and "please" escaping between whimpers.

Stanford's heart gave a painful twist at the sight. 'ᴬ ⁿᶦᵍʰᵗᵐᵃʳᵉ.' He thought, speaking from experience. 'ᴺᵒ ᵈᵒᵘᵇᵗ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵇᵉᶦⁿᵍ ᵏᶦᵈⁿᵃᵖᵖᵉᵈ ʸᵉˢᵗᵉʳᵈᵃʸ...'

Cautiously approaching the pinkette, who had tangled himself in his bedsheets with his struggles, he gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Anise, it's just a nightmare, you're safe..." He cooed, using what he hoped was a comforting voice.

"Please....'m sorry.... please don't..." Anise whimpered out, weakly, waving his arms out in an attempt to fight off some invisible attacker.

Knowing that the shapeshifter would only hurt himself if this continued, Stanford did the first thing he could think of to calm them down. Sitting down on the bed next to them, he gently pulled the pinkette into a hug, gently running his hands through his soft peach colored hair.

For a moment, it seemed like it wouldn't work, but soon the shapeshifter began to calm down. He slowly began to melt into the embrace, his whimpers and panicked flailing slowing down until he was calm once more. Gradually, the pinkette's eyes fluttered open and he looked up to Stanford with sleepy confusion.

"H..huh.... why....?" He muttered softly, blinking blearily. 'ˢᵗᵃʳˢ, ʰᵉ'ˢ ᵃᵈᵒʳᵃᵇˡᵉ...' The silver man thought to himself.

"I heard you having a nightmare." He said simply in explanation. Soon, the pinkette had began to fully wake up, and he got a expression of embarrassment on his face.

"Sorry... I... I didn't wake you up, did I...?" He asked, shyly, as he fiddled with his fingers.

"You don't have to apologize, I was already awake." He paused for a moment before he asked the most pressing question on his mind. "You didn't see... him... did you?" The shapeshifter blinked in confusion before remembering who he was referring to.

"Oh! No, it wasn't him. Just... bad memories." Stanford's eyebrows knit in concern. He wanted to ask about what memories would cause such a reaction, but it didn't seem like the pinkette was ready to talk about it, so he decided against it.

Silence overtook the two, Stanford still holding the younger shapeshifter in his arms and Anise slightly clinging onto his midsection, until shyness hit them and they separated from the hug, both blushing.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, the silver haired man looked at the bandages on the pinkette's leg and went into doctor mode. "Your leg. Does it hurt? When's the last time you changed the bandages?"

"....A few days ago...?" Came the answer, said as he looked down at his hands like a child having been caught doing something bad. Stanford gave a tired sigh.

"I'll make breakfast, but afterwards I'm checking your leg."

➽──────────────❥

In his younger days, Stanford Pines was all but banned from any and all kitchens, and the few times he attempted to cook had ended with the food in question burnt to unrecognition and, on a few occasions, a call to the fire department.

Thankfully, in recent years he had managed to somewhat improve his cooking. He was still far from a professional chef, but he could manage basic things like eggs and toast.

Once the two finished eating their small breakfast, the first aid kid was quickly retrieved and Anise was seated back on the couch. Now sitting longways so Stanford could check the pinkette's leg injury.

Once he removed Anise's bandages, he bit back a wince. I'll spare you, dear reader, from the details but as it turns out, wearing the same bandages for days at a time and barely cleaning the wound wasn't a great idea.

"Sorry... again..." He warned gently as he began to clean the cut. Surprisingly, aside from the odd hiss of pain every once in a while, the pinkette mostly seemed to stay quiet. Biting his tongue doing so, but Stanford didn't notice. But soon enough it was bandaged up, this time in fresh bandages.

"Aw crap!" Anise suddenly had said as he sat back up. "My stuff, it's still back at the place I was staying at...!" The shapeshifter made to get up and leave when a hand was placed on his shoulder in a 'hold the fuck up' gesture.

"You shouldn't be walking on that injury, plus there's still Bill Cipher out there." The taller of the two explained.

"You don't have to worry about me, Ford. After all, who's the one who saved who from Mr. Nacho yesterday?" Anise quipped with a surprisingly smug expression.

"Well, who's the one who went there to rescue the other in the first place?" He simply quipped back with a flat tone.

"Well, who's the one with shapeshifting powers here?" Stanford let out a long, suffering sigh.

"Fine, but you're not going there alone." He finally conceded.

➽──────────────❥

Once Anise had gotten changed back into his other clothes, (because he wasn't going to go get his backpack in Ford's clothes.) the duo drove out.

"So, where are we headed? The inn?" Stanford asked as he drove. In the passenger seat, Anise started to fiddle with his hands awkwardly.

"....Not exactly."

Apparently, 'not exactly' translated to 'I literally live in a abandoned house'. Stanford looked upon the slightly run down building and swore he was going to die worrying about the shapeshifter who was living in it.

"Ani, you're staying in an abandoned building?" He asked, tone full of surprise and concern.

"Yeah? I mean," The smaller one flustered at the concern the silver haired man showed him, unused to the feeling. "I've been... travelling on foot for a while, so I've been living here and there..."

"And you've been travelling alone?" Ford asked, looking at Anise with an expression filled with emotion the shapeshifter couldn't place, yet it made him feel guilty and he looked down at his lap.

"Yeah, but I managed just fine." He quipped back, an attempt to sound strong that sounded weak even to his own ears. Now feeling ashamed for making his new friend worry about him, Anise exited the car without another word to retrieve his backpack.

➽──────────────❥

Ford found himself alone, sitting in his car wondering if he said something wrong. He watched Anise leave, seeming not necessarily angry... but rather.... sad? Afraid? (ᴿᵉᵃᵈᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉᵐᵒᵗᶦᵒⁿˢ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵃʳᵒᵘⁿᵈ ʰᶦᵐ ʷᵃˢ, ˢᵃᵈˡʸ, ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳ ˢᵗᵃⁿᶠᵒʳᵈ'ˢ ᶠᵒʳᵗᵉ.)

What the man did know, though, was that the pink haired mystery in his life was homeless, had been on his own for who knows how long and had a nasty looking injury on his leg from who knows what. 'ᴼʳ ʷʰᵒ...?' a dark part of his mind thought, and his stomach twisted at the idea.

Suddenly, he was faced with the realization that, while he was becoming closer to Anise, he was still in the dark about so much when it came to the pinkette's life. And the few clues he was given were adding up to a very worrying picture.

And Anise himself seemed reluctant to talk about it, whatever 'it' was, and as much as Stanford wanted to press for answers, he knew from experience that trying to force answers from someone would just end badly and the last thing he wanted was Anise feeling pressured and running away.

He knew if he wanted to help Anise, it had to be when the pinkette was ready to accept the help.

With this resolve in mind, he went to go check on them.

➽──────────────❥

When Stanford found the effeminate shapeshifter, he was sitting against a wall outside of the house, in his hands a slightly worn black sketchbook. He seemed focused on looking at whatever was inside the sketchbook and didn't seem to notice Ford approach him, so he cleared his throat.

Anise gave a startle, and looked up to see Ford with an apologetic look on his face.

"S-sorry...! I guess I got distracted..." The pinkette sputtered out with a flustered smile.

"It's quite alright." Ford assured, putting his hands out in a calming gesture. "...Mind if I join you?" He asked after a moment of deliberation.

"Go ahead." Came the somewhat hesitant answer, and in a few moments Stanford was sitting next to the shy shapeshifter, close but still with some space between the two.

For a bit, the two sat in silence, Anise still looking at whatever was in the sketchbook, seeming almost like he was in a different world. Stanford figured he should try to mind his own business, but eventually the man's curiosity overcame him and he leaned over to take a quick peek.

However, when he looked he found his eyes couldn't look away. His eyes glued in fascination at the drawing: a pencil sketch of a brick building, an old looking mansion with stained glass windows. The drawing itself was pretty simple, but the shapeshifter seemed almost lost inside of it, his expression a look of nostalgia and... sadness?

"That's a lovely drawing, Ani." He complimented before he could think the better of it. The pinkette gave a small, weary smile in return.

"Thanks Stanford. It's... a place that I used to know..." The silver haired man guessed that it might've been the shapeshifter's home.

Home. A concept that for years seemed lost to the silver haired man. Lost since he walked out the door of what he thought was his home, with naught but a demon on his shoulder and a letter from his dream school.

And seeing the way the pinkette looked at the sketch reminded him of the days he would do the same, unconsciously drawing pictures of boats and getting lost in a memory before he would force himself to focus on the present.

"Do you miss it?" He asked softly.

"Sometimes." Anise's expression changed to a look of bitterness. "I'm never going back, though. Never again." He had added, with a forceful tone that surprised the scientist.

"Do you know where you're going, then?" He had asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be. Sure enough, the pinkette said nothing, which was all the answer the scientist needed.

"Ani..." Was all he could muster, his tone pure worry and care.

"I mean, I've just been wandering on my own, but it's alright!" The pinkette finally looked up from the sketchbook. Having someone here to show concern for him was nice, and yet he felt a pang of guilt for causing the worry. "I got to see so many sights on the way here, I made a lot of sketches!"

'ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᶠᵉᵉˡ ᵇᵃᵈ. ᴺᵒᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵉ...'

Stanford could tell the shapeshifter was trying to deflect attention away from himself, be it from embarrassment, shame or guilt.

"Well, I want you to know that my home is always open to you." He had assured, surprising even himself with how easy and honestly the words came to him.

"...You don't have to do that, I don't want to bother you..." Came the small, almost afraid sounding response, and a six fingered hand was placed over Anise's.

"I assure you, you have not bothered me once. You even helped save me yesterday. Please, let me do this for you." There was a pause when nothing was said, until finally Anise gave his hand a squeeze, the message of the gesture was clear to the both of them.

'Please, don't go.'

➽──────────────❥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((a/n: right now got a bit of a break from the action, just having some fluff between the two! but i promise you all i have some big drama and excitement planned. i'm trying to attempt some "slow burn" between these two, but it's hard b/c my brain's like "CRY AND KISS ALREADY!"
> 
> anyways, hope you all like this chapter! i'd say it took a while, but at this point that's pretty much par for the course. hopefully i'm getting stanford here mostly in character, too.))


	6. resident minor, how do you plea?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Content warnings for this chapter: some tense situations, strangulation, negative self talk and a mild panic attack as well as self harm ideation.  
> This is gonna be a dark one, folks.))

Later than afternoon saw the duo enjoying the forest. At one point while he strolled with Stanford, Anise had recognized a patch of purple flowers and, as if on instinct, he approached the plants to get a closer look, calling out to his companion.

"Hey, there's some azalea! In Chinese culture, they're known as the 'thinking of home' bush. Apparently, in some places they use them to make something called Mad Honey, which causes grayanotoxin and can be lethal..." The pinkette caught himself, suddenly looking embarrassed at letting himself nerd out over the plants. "S-sorry! I got distracted..." Nearby, Stanford blinked owlishly.

"Don't be. Where'd you learn that?" He asked as he joined the other in observing the azaleas.

"A book... think it was called something like 'A History of Floriculture', I read a lot of flower books so I sometimes get them mixed up..." Anise explained softly, inwardly bracing himself for the incoming chastising for wasting his time with something as useless as flowers.

"Perhaps you could tell me what else you know, it sounds pretty interesting." The shapeshifter couldn't help but look up in surprise at this response, coming off as neither annoyed nor condescending but rather with a genuine interest in what he knew. This was all the encouragement the pinkette needed, and his expression lit up as he looked for more plants to point out and explain some little tidbits he knew about them.

"And here's some Anise, my kin. A weird plant to be named after, but I don't mind. You can also use its seeds for things like candy and drinks." He looked up from the white flowering plants in question to see Ford zoning out again. He couldn't help but notice he seemed out of it for a while...

'ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ᵇᵒʳᶦⁿᵍ ʰᶦᵐ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵈᵘᵐᵇ ᵖˡᵃⁿᵗ ᶠᵃᶜᵗˢ.' The back of his mind taunted. He tried to ignore the mocking voice.

"Sorry, I should probably move on from the plant stuff, huh?" He had asked, trying to inject a joking tone to cover up the small hurt that rested inside his chest.

"...Huh." Ford gave a few blinks before coming back to the present. "Oh, sorry. It's not you, dear, I'm just a little tired..." He gently reassured, resting his head in his hand. Anise fixed him with a curious look.

"How much did you sleep?"

"Anise, I'll be fine..."

"Ford, how much did you sleep?" Anise repeated, eyes narrowed in mock suspicion as he crossed his arms. The silver-haired man found himself unable to lie to his peach haired companion.

"An hour... maybe two...?" Came the sheepish reply, and Anise only gave a small frown in worry.

"Ford, we're going back h- to your house and you're going to sleep right now." For a few moments the two simply looked at each other with stony expressions, as if locked in some scifi-esque mind battle.

"...There's no point in trying to argue further, is there?" The shapeshifter's face quickly lit up with a pleased smile.

"Nope~!"

➽──────────────❥

Soon enough the duo were back at Stanford's cabin again, and while the older man gave a few more attempts to argue against his ordered rest Anise, for how shy he could be, stood just as stubborn against him.

He even laid down next to the man.

Platonically, of course! Just to make sure he actually slept.

And even if he didn't say it out loud, the shapeshifter got the feeling that Stanford appreciated the company as he slept as well.

Despite the man's protests, it wasn't long until the scientist had drifted off into slumber. He was laying on his side and facing towards Anise who, looking upon Stanford's resting form with his messy hair and peaceful expression, felt his heart flutter and his cheeks become warm.

He looked so... soft...

Anise's hand twitched as he stared, transfixed, on the man's hair. Hair that fluffy should be against the law. (Not that Anise was one to talk, but still.)

The pinkette reached over a few centimeters... then froze... then reached... then froze. He felt like a bugler staring down a priceless jewel, it felt so wrong and yet... he would just reach a little more...

His hand met with silver hair, and for a moment the shapeshifter froze, as if expected the man to wake and reprimand him. But rather than that, the man gave a small grunt and leaned into the touch with a soft, sleepy smile.

The shapeshifter's heart now felt like it was filled with a dozen butterflies all fluttering in unison as he gently pet the sleeping man. A part of him wished he had a camera to capture this wonderful moment forever, but instead he'd have to settle for memorizing Stanford's small smile, etching the way the midday sunlight shined on his face.

As he did this, Anise's eyes were drawn to a crescent shaped necklace that was hanging around his neck, over the white turtleneck. Despite taking off his coat and shoes, he must've forgotten about the necklace, and it seemed to be poking into him uncomfortably.

The shapeshifter figured he could hold onto it as the man slept. As he reached to the necklace, a feeling of dread seemed to crawl into his stomach, but Anise pushed the feeling away. 'ᴵᵗ'ˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵃ ⁿᵉᶜᵏˡᵃᶜᵉ, ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ᵃᶠʳᵃᶦᵈ ᵒᶠ.'

Reaching over, the shapeshifter unhooked the necklace and gently removed it from Stanford's neck, who shifted a little but otherwise continued to sleep on, unaware.

Once the gold necklace was in his hands, Anise held the strange charm up in the sunrays. It was a simple necklace of a crescent moon. The moon was in a faded looking gold while the dark part of it was a midnight blue gem. A sapphire, perhaps?

And yet, despite it's harmless appearance, something about the necklace seemed to give off some kind of energy. The shapeshifter stared at the necklace, as if in some trance, until the sound of movement startled him from his thoughts.

He looked over to see that Stanford had abruptly risen from his brief rest, lifting his upper body in an almost robotic way as he did so.

"I-I'm sorry, Ford! I was just looking at it... I can give the necklace back, if you want." Anise quickly explained, feeling as though he were a house bugler being caught with the prized jewels.

But rather than being angry, upset or even confused, the silver haired man's expression split into a grin.

"Oh, that old piece of junk? I was going to get rid of it anyway, keep it!" He waved off, his usual soft spoken tone now carrying an energy it hadn't before. Anise blinked in confusion at this sudden change.

"Are you feeling alright, Ford?" He slowly asked, prepared to tell the man to go back to sleep if need be.

"Why wouldn't I be, Cu-...tie?" As the silver haired man practically leapt out bed with a newfound vigor, the feeling of dread from before had returned to the shapeshifter with a vengeance. The strange behavior... the new nickname that sounded awkward and forced...

And he was starting to notice that his eyes seemed to have a glow to them that wasn't entirely due to the golden sunlight streaming from the nearby window.

Trying to keep the mounting fear he felt from showing, the pinkette slowly reached over to the nearby bed stand.

"Well, I just want to make sure yo-you get enough rest... I c-care about you, Ford..." He tried to keep a conversational tone as he opened the nightstand drawer, desperately feeling around until his hands landed on what he was looking for. A small bottle of liquid, hopefully holy water if his guess about Ford's overpreparedness was accurate.

He was just working on uncorking the bottle when he was stopped by a six fingered hand roughly grabbed his hands, pinning them on the wall behind him along with his only weapon against the demon, shattering the bottle and leaving the contents on the wall.

"WOW, SMARTER THAN WE LOOK, AREN'T WE?" He taunted as Anise struggled in vain to free himself. Now, face to face with him the shapeshifter could see his cat like eyes as clear as day.

"Leave Ford alone, Bill, he's not interested in whatever you want him to do!" Anise yelled, trying to summon his bravery despite the situation he was in. The yellow eyed demon simply laughed in response.

"THOSE ARE SOME BIG WORDS FOR SOMEONE WHO LET ME POSSESS HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"I...I didn't...!" Was all the pinkette could force out in response before the demon cut him off.

"DON'T ACT ALL INNOCENT! YOU JUST HAD TO STICK YOUR NOSE IN WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG, JUST COULDN'T KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF, COULD YOU? AND, REALLY, WHEN HAVE YOU EVER HELPED ANYONE ANYWAY?" Anise found any bit of courage he had managed drained away as the dream demon spoke.

"That's not true... I saved him from you before...!"

"AND WHO'S FAULT IT WAS THAT HE NEEDED TO BE SAVED IN THE FIRST PLACE? FACE IT, CUPID, ALL YOU DO IS SCREW EVERYTHING UP. YOU LEAVE A MESS EVERYWHERE YOU GO!"

"S-shut up..."

"HOW LONG DO YOU THINK SIXER'S GONNA PUT UP WITH YOU MESSING EVERYTHING UP? HOW LONG UNTIL HE FIGURES OUT WHAT KIND OF MONSTER YOU REALLY ARE?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Finding his courage once more, the pinkette shifted himself into the form of a tiger, using his newfound strength to shove Bill Cipher away from him and, once he was temporarily distracted, he made a break for the door.

His feet took him to the reading room, where his eyes fell on a specific book that could help him. As he picked up the tome he heard the rapidly approaching footsteps of his currently possessed friend.

"LITTLE CUPID, RAN AWAY FROM HOME~! LITTLE CUPID, RAN AS FAST AS HE COULD~!" Came the sickly sweet sing song voice of his pursuer. Anise forced himself to try to ignore the taunting as he quickly flipped through the book, desperately looking for anything that could get the being out of Stanford's body.

"LITTLE CUPID, THOUGHT HE ESCAPED HIS CAGE...~" He tried to get away from the approaching voice, running into a door only to realize he trapped himself in what looked to be a spare room with no other exits.

"BUT LITTLE DID HE KNOW THAT HE COULD NEVER TRULY ESCAPE~" And there he was at the door, grinning widely with predatory delight. "NOWHERE TO GO, CUPID, SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE UP ALREADY?"

Backing up into a corner, the shapeshifter fixed Bill with a look of defiance as he read out loud the contents of the book. The demon, however, was quicker and, like a tiger, pounced on his prey with his hand covering Anise's mouth, silencing him. The book fell with a thud far away. Too far to reach, and the shapeshifter's breath caught in his throat as he was once again face to face with the dream demon's bright yellow eyes.

"BE QUIET, YOU!" He growled, his eyes now filled with anger as his patience with the shapeshifter seemed to have run out. This was also evident from the other hand - the one that wasn't covering Anise's mouth - was wrapped around his throat, his tight grip making the shapeshifter cry out under the six fingered hand.

Reacting on pure instinct with his oxygen being cut off, Anise's hand reached out for some, anything, to save him. He felt his hand close around the handle of a candle. The heavy, iron kind.

With a pang of guilt and a silent apology, Anise used all his waning strength to bring down the makeshift weapon onto Bill's head. It hit the possessed man with a resounding thud and he immediately fell to the ground like a puppet without strings.

For a brief, horrifying moment, a single thought went through Anise's mind: 'ʸᵒᵘ ᵏᶦˡˡᵉᵈ ʰᶦᵐ. ˢᵗᵃⁿᶠᵒʳᵈ ᶦˢ ᵈᵉᵃᵈ ⁿᵒʷ ᵇᵉᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ᵒᶠ ʸᵒᵘ.'

Their blood turned to ice at the thought, but they forced themselves to stay calm and check on him. They let out a breath of relief as they verified that Stanford's pulse was fine and that he was breathing. He was just unconscious.

After quickly putting the necklace back on, Anise shifted into the form of a bear and carefully navigated Stanford onto their back, taking him to the study room and laying him gently on the couch.

Once the unconscious scientist was safe and (mostly) comfortable, Anise sat down himself and let the full gravity of everything that just happened sink in.

They knew that, assuming that Stanford wasn't aware during his possession, (A thought that the pinkette quickly decided he would not think about) they would have to tell him what happened. Not out of an inability to hide what happened, (Although if the furniture knocked over didn't give it away, the buises that were sure to appear on their neck would) but the thought of facing him when he woke up, knowing what they did and then lying about it, made his heart ache.

And, deep inside, they knew that once they came clean about how much they messed up... taking what wasn't theirs and letting Bill possess him...

Bill was right. He did leave a mess everywhere he went.

And once Stanford realized what they did, he was going to leave them like the stray mutt they were.

More and more thoughts of this kind went through the pinkette as their head spun and their chest felt like it was being squeezed with the same force that their throat had been earlier.

A panic attack: they realized. They stumbled to the bathroom, their legs shaky and clumsy, and gripped the sink as they splashed some water on their face, desperately trying to cling onto the cold feeling to anchor themselves to the present.

It was then that, without even making the conscious decision to do so, their eyes wandered up and caught a glimpse of their reflection. Sure enough, there were already dark bruises starting to form around their throat, but that's not what caught Anise's attention.

No, it was his eyes. Those awful eyes. A bright ruby red, almost seeming to glow in the fluorescent light of the small bathroom. They were inhuman. They were demonic.

They were just like Bill's.

And for a brief moment, the shapeshifter felt the impulse to throw a fist into that horrible reflection. Maybe even take a shard of the wreckage that would be left of the mirror, use it to finally destroy those cursed crimson eyes once and for all.

Thankfully, the self destructive impulse left them just as quickly, and instead the half demon tore himself away from the mirror and settled for sitting on the bathroom floor and crying his eyes out for a few minutes instead.

➽──────────────❥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((A/N: Welp. That just happened.
> 
> Believe it or not, this chapter was not supposed to be as dark as it ended up being. The choking part was thrown in spur-of-the-moment because it just felt right, as well as Ani breaking down at the end. It was originally going to just be like "Elli gets possessed, taunts Anise a little then Ani uses the book to exorcise him and tells Elli what happened" but instead ended up being "Ani gets bullied and cries in the bathroom: NOT CLICKBAIT".
> 
> But you know what, I'm happy with how this came out. Hope you guys enjoyed it as well! Stay safe!))


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